Are T-Tops the New P.A.F.? The Next Vintage Pickup Boom?

Are T-Tops the New P.A.F.? The Next Vintage Pickup Boom?
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Welcome to Episode #068 of the ThroBak Guitar Lounge Podcast! This week Jon Gundry and Matthew dive into the world of vintage Gibson T-Top humbuckers with Steve Clark's repaired T-Top. We ask whether these once-overlooked pickups are finally stepping out of the shadow of the legendary P.A.F. As original P.A.F. pickups become increasingly rare, expensive, and out of reach for many players, could the T-Top be the next great vintage Gibson humbucker?

🎸 Gear Featured in This Episode:

2026 Gibson 1958 Historic Reissue Les Paul
1979 T-Top Bridge pickup from Steve Clark's Les Paul used heavily on stage and in studio.
Vintage 1979 Fender Silverface Deluxe Reverb
Nobels ODR-1 effect pedal

🎸 PICKUPS OF THE WEEK — VINTAGE GIBSON T-TOPS

For Pickups of the Week, we go straight to the source with a vintage set of Gibson T-Top humbuckers installed in a 1968 Gibson ES-335. Jon puts the guitar through its paces using a 1979 Silver Panel Fender Deluxe Reverb for the clean tones and kicks on a Nobels ODR-1 for some added grit.

This is your chance to hear what vintage T-Tops actually sound like in a period Gibson guitar and decide for yourself whether these pickups deserve more respect from players and collectors.

🔥 A T-TOP WITH ROCK & ROLL HISTORY

Jon shows off a guitar he picked up during last week's visit to Chicago Music Exchange: a Gibson '58 Historic Les Paul finished in a VOS Tobacco sunburst. But there's something inside this Les Paul that makes it unlike just about any other Historic Reissue.

In the bridge position is a 1979 Gibson T-Top pickup that came out of Def Leppard guitarist Steve Clark's 1978 Tobacco Sunburst Gibson Les Paul Standard.

The pickup arrived at ThroBak in non-working condition and presented Jon with an unusual restoration challenge: how do you repair a vintage pickup with real rock & roll history while preserving as much of its originality as possible?

Jon repaired the pickup using ThroBak's historic pickup winding equipment, and in this episode we get to hear this piece of Def Leppard guitar history come back to life. Jon plugs in the '58 Historic and lets the restored Steve Clark T-Top do the talking!

⚔️ THE GUITARGUMENT — ARE T-TOPS THE NEW P.A.F.?

Matthew and Jon take sides in the Guitargument: Are vintage Gibson T-Tops becoming the new P.A.F. for the discerning guitarist and collector? Are players beginning to recognize something that has been hiding in plain sight for decades? And as P.A.F. prices continue to put originals beyond the reach of most guitarists, will T-Tops become the next highly sought-after vintage Gibson humbucker?

🎵 RORSCHACH RIFFS — MATTHEW GETS SLIPPERY!

Matthew returns with four brand-new Rorschach Riffs designed to test Jon's musical memory. But this week Matthew introduces something we've never seen before on Rorschach Riffs — a glass slide!

Finally, Matthew's Musical Musings pays tribute to the incredible Dolly Parton.

The discussion begins with a striking 1972 portrait of Dolly taken by photographer Henry Horenstein and featured in his book Honky Tonk: Portraits of Country Music 1972–1981.

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